Emerald Fire
by Neureleine
Summary: I heard such a scream that sounded as if the Earth was shrieking in pain. It filled the forest but did not scare the birds or the animals it was as if they were used to it or knew what it was.”
1. Neureleine

Note: Please review, and don't spare my feelings; I can take any scathing invectives you can dish out. If you flare me out of pure spite, I will be forced to retaliate in a way not at all pleasing to the addressee. But if you honestly have a problem with something I have written please email me (or review; ) and I will address it as soon as possible. Constructive criticism is welcome, as always.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of Tamora Pierce's characters, plots, settings (etc.) and do not intend to pass them off as my own.

Neureleine

The tree she was standing in was unlike any seen anywhere else than in the Vale. It had a large round trunk that would take two adults to reach around, progressing slowly into a smaller, smooth, and circular trunk with no markings at all. About twenty feet up, branches shot out at angles no other tree could manage. The long branches sprouted tendrils that reached the forest floor, ending with small, glass-like orbs, delicately swaying in the still air.  
  
To the girl, the appearance of a tree that moved on its own was not unusual in the least. In fact, she stood as if not bothered by the fact that falling from the branch would mean almost certain death. Her carefree attitude seemed to be caused mostly by the knowledge that, even now; the silvery tendrils of the tree were looping up her long legs to hold her in place.  
  
She looked around from her perch and sighed. Soon she would no longer be free to run the forest, taking in every change, loving every flaw. Soon the pond that reflected her innermost thoughts and feelings could not be her haven; soon, she would be married. Neureleine Sithael would marry Gallo Nucke, the son of the tribal leader, in two weeks.  
  
At seventeen, she was still considered a child by some, but, ironically, old enough to marry the man that would be the future of the village.  
  
"He's a good sort of man, but can you really see me the wife of the future leader of the tribe? I can't either," she questioned the water nymph that surfaced at the edge of the pool when she finally climbed down the length of the tree.  
  
Neureleine was a restless person without the sense of sacrificial duty, characteristic to the woodland tribes.  
  
The tiny blue woman with flowing raven-black hair, giggled mischievously and ducked back in the water.  
  
Neureleine looked around for the source of the nymph's laughter and saw Gallo hesitantly approaching her.  
  
"I see what you mean," she said, cringing in exasperation at the irony in the timing.  
  
The girl turned back around, pretending not to see her husband-to-be. She leaned back to the ground and stared up through the treetops, carefully maintaining her demeanor of complete unknowing.  
  
Gallo Nucke stopped ten feet away from her and watched the faint breeze rustle the girl's simple green dress against her body.  
  
The birds chattered overhead but the man in his early twenties seemed unable to voice his thoughts.  
  
Neureleine glanced over and feigned surprise. At the look he blanched and seemed about to run for cover when Neureleine said, "Gallo, what troubles you?"  
  
A practiced look of worry came onto her pale face when Gallo didn't respond but only sat, feet away from her.  
  
Neureleine looked back at the water, anticipating what he was going to say, to save herself the pain of surprise and disappointment.  
  
"Neureleine, we are to be wed in two weeks, yet you continue to hide from me. I must admit, I do not understand you. Not to be blunt, but, I asked you to be my wife and you accepted. But you have yet to trust me as a wife should her husband. Why do you insist on hiding from anyone who might want to get close to you?"  
  
Neureleine gaped at him in surprise. "I do no such thing," she snapped. "You know very well I have close friends; a group that I thought included you!"  
  
"Very well. Name one."  
  
"Mally!"  
  
"Mally does not count; she is your foster mother and is not even human." Neureleine paused and thought for a moment, then retorted, "I am not hiding, people just don't take to me is all. I am just as friendly as anyone else!" But even as she said this, she knew it was not true. She was a secretive person but with reason; she had a secret she couldn't trust anyone but Mally with. Her awareness of this fact had somewhat prevented her from becoming intimate with any of the village.  
  
Gallo watched her pace furiously back and forth, then said, "You do not want to marry me." A wave of sorrow passed over his face, then cleared. "It is as plain as anything and I'm surprised I didn't see it before. I release you from your promise. I will inform my father. I am truly sorry, Neureleine." He watched her for a moment, watching her muddy brown hair ripple across her pale, freckled face into her piercing emerald green eyes and left.  
  
Neureleine sat with her knees drawn to her chest with mixed feelings of relief and regret confusing her too much to do anything but sit.  
  
The Nereid surfaced again gave out a lonely cry of sympathy for the girl.  
  
"Why does this sadden me? This is what I've wanted. I never really wanted to marry him from the first." Then why do I feel as if I've been rejected?  
  
The young woman stood and skipped a stone across the surface of the pool.  
  
"Mally isn't going to be happy. Maybe I'll just stay here and not go back for a day or two until she cools down."  
  
She was about to lay back down when the water faerie gave her a very reproachful look.  
  
"Okay, okay. I didn't think so, either."  
  
The girl slowly started to walk home. 

"What's the matter with you?!" the Dahme faerie screeched. "I let you out of my sight for one minute and you come back with your sweetheart run off. What did you do to him?!"  
  
Neureleine stared at her foster mother for a moment, dismayed at her tone.  
  
At the hurt she saw on her daughter's face, she apologized for her rash words. "I'm sorry, darling. I just don't see how you get yourself into these messes. What happened?"  
  
Neureleine explained what happened at the pond. She told Mally of her anger at his accusations, watching the frown lines in Mally's forehead deepen.  
  
"Oh, but sweet, he's right. Don't be so hard on him. He can't have known. Forgive him, sweetling." After a pause in which Neureleine dried her angry tears in her foster mother's shoulder, she asked quietly, "Do you love him, dear?"  
  
Caught by surprise, the girl looked up with wide green eyes, anger flaring. "What does love matter? Does any woman in this village marry for love? I'm like them, I will marry for stature!"  
  
"But sweet, you are not like them and no matter how you try to pretend, you cannot hide it or make it go away."  
  
Neureleine stood, anger etched in every line of her face with her body seeming to glow emerald, the contrast against her pale skin, dazzling. "How can you say that, when all you've ever taught me is that if I want it badly enough I can be whatever I want?!"  
  
She stalked out of the hut located on the edge of the village and started walking between her beloved trees.  
  
Mally watched her leave, one lonely tear rolling down her tanned skin, her green hair, blowing.  
  
She stood and said "Soon I'll have to tell her," and started to cook their dinner of wild roots and hare.


	2. Typical

Chapter 2: Typical

Neureleine, thankfully still Sithael instead of Nucke, walked the marketplace with her grocery list in hand. Mally was planning to cook a feast in celebration of Neureleine's eighteenth birthday, six months after her almost wedding.  
  
Many people in the town still gawked at her as if she were crazy for ruining her chances of ever being married because of her strange ways and habits by scaring off the only man ever to ask her. Luckily for her, most people secretly liked her unique manner; it gave them variety in an otherwise monotonous world.  
  
Neureleine was thinking of this when she lazily walked up to the fruit merchant's stand and handed him her list. While he gathered her requested items she analyzed the young man keeping the dairy stall and decided he would be a nice sort of person to talk to if ever she got around to doing it.  
  
Looking around, her eyes settled on a man leaning against the great tree used for celebrations in honor of the gods, watching everyone with a measuring glare. Neureleine didn't recognize him but this was not surprising. Her strangeness had scared most people away from even introducing themselves.  
  
She paid the man and gathered her things, carefully selecting grapes to eat from the bunch that would not be noticed missing if Mally decided to follow through on her threat to find out if she ate any before she got home.  
  
Halfway home she was walking along the riverbed that lay yards away from a steep drop-off when she noticed three boys pushing around two young women on their way to the market.  
  
One of the boys Neureleine recognized as Jesabh Nor, one of the few that had never accepted her story of her parents being mauled by wolves when she was a child. They pretended to believe that she was a witch and had set the wolves upon her parents. They spread the rumor as much as possible, pretending to gather support to cast her out when their real aim was to gain attention from certain young ladies that were jealous of her good looks.  
  
"Hey, Tessa! Why don't you let me help you with that-right into my arms." He laughed, cruelly humiliating the shy girl.  
  
It was easy to see from the start that the girls had no way to defend themselves, let alone the skills to use any weapons they may have had. Neureleine, on the other hand, was not a shy female that thought fighting was just men's work. She had worked to learn to use the staff, dagger, and bow for hunting and times such as these: when someone decided to have their way with someone smaller and defenseless.  
  
Neureleine knew there was no way she could beat the three young men on her own but her pride and honor would not let her back down when defenseless people were involved.  
  
Neureleine stopped and, bracing herself against an oak, loosened her limbs while assessing the situation. The men were of average height and build, stocky but not muscular. Score one for me.  
  
Now I'm glad I wore my old clothes, I wouldn't want to stain the new clothes Mally has worked so hard on with my own blood.  
  
She had no weapon at all while the men had their fists; she had never bothered to learn hand-to-hand combat, doubting that it would do much good in a match with extremely bad odds.  
  
Slowly, trying to avoid the immediate notice of the group, she slipped out of the clearing and into the trees trying to find a sturdy stick that could be used for a staff. She rejected her first two picks as either too short or too thick when she finally found one that would do, wedged between two thick branches of a gnarled pine. The fact that it was not shaped or smooth she would just have to overlook. Serves me right for leaving mine at home.  
  
Making sure she wasn't seen or heard until she was only feet away, she leaned casually on her make-shift weapon and coughed.  
  
All five people turned and stared at her.  
  
Even from that distance she could clearly smell brandy on their breathes when they spoke.

"Oh, I'm sorry, don't let me interrupt your friendly little chat here- as long as it doesn't get too friendly," she warned, watching the trembling girls and arrogant boys with cold eyes that pierced the silence.  
  
Jesabh reeled to face his companions and back again, making sure they were all watching him so he could finally get rid of this annoying fly of a girl.  
  
Before he could speak, Neureleine turned to the girls reproachfully, saying, "Tessa, I'm surprised at you; you should be getting the food for your ma instead of playing with these foolish boys. Now you and Nena, run along." She taunted them, daring Jesabh to lose patience and attack, leaving his strategy open for analyzing before she struck.  
  
Unfortunately Jesabh was a coward and decided to catch some easier prey to feed his overstuffed ego and scare the women some more. "Where do y'think ye're goin', lassy?" He sneered grabbing Tessa roughly by the arm and twisting it behind her back.

Now it was time for her to step in. She was smaller and nimbler than them; if she dodged and blocked their blows, it was possible to make them disoriented enough to knock them out without her being badly wounded.  
  
"Tessa. Nena. I said go. I will inform Master Jesabh here of his rudeness and disrespect towards women. Will you kindly inform your mothers of what has happened here?"  
  
The women nodded; terrified looks on their faces, and stumbled back the way they came when Jesabh finally admitted he could not shake of this pest and let the girl go.  
  
Unbeknownst to Neureleine or the three others, a stranger to the town waited in the shadows and watched in silent approval.  
  
"I'm gonna get ya this time, you little snake! Ye're witch of a foster-mother isn't here to save you, now!"  
  
The insult to her only friend was almost enough to make her lose control. Being the forest faerie of the Vale, she made it possible for Jesabh and his cronies to make such clean and quick kills when hunting; one of Jesabh's glory makers. The ungrateful slight was almost more than she could take, when made against the woman she cared for so deeply.  
  
Neureleine managed to laugh, unnerving the drunk man in front of her. She raised her staff and circled all three using complicated foot patterns to increase their nervousness and make them edgy; and effect that could lead them to make rash decisions; and force them to make mistakes, leaving themselves open to attack.

Jesabh made the first move; the other boys backing away to give him space to pound her into the ground.  
  
He lunged at her stumbling over a rock and falling on his face at Neureleine's feet. Neureleine graciously let him get to his feet before moving in to strike, knowing full well he would not have allowed her the chance.

He lunged again; this time the grass was free of any debris and his one hundred eighty pounds came straight at her.  
  
She raised the staff to block his attack, assuming he would grab it, attempting to wrench it from her grip. As if on cue, Jesabh grabbed the staff, allowing Neureleine to twist and flip him over her knee to the ground in a move learned from Mally.  
  
The rolling man grabbed her ankle as he stood, his face a red mask of fury, yanking her off her feet. She landed, sprawled on the ground with Jesabh towering over her, his fist pulled back for a punch.  
  
Ignoring the pounding in her temples and the ache in her back from landing, she tucked and rolled out of his range. Finding the staff where she dropped it, she grasped the middle of the stick in her right hand, the bottom end in her left. Swinging it at the last moment, when Jesabh was right behind her, she jammed it into his ribs. Though she had not hit him hard enough to break them, Jesabh still rolled on the ground clutching his side, where soon a mottled bruise would be.  
  
She reeled and tumbled to the ground, rolling to her left, finding the other two boys gone.  
  
Neureleine stood, slowly looking around for any sign of the missing boys and, finding none, sat on a great rock by the river. Just then, the parents of the two girls, the boys and various other people from the town arrived, breathless with shock that was easily detectable upon their faces at the scene before them.  
  
Neureleine Sithael sat on the bank with her feet in the river and the town's pride an joy lying curled on his side in the dirt, weeping.  
  
Master Nor, the town blacksmith and the father of Jesabh chose the moment of stunned silence to scream, enraged at the girl.  
  
"You-you-you little witch! What did you do to my son?!" The man, over six feet in height stepped forward, no doubt intending to rip her apart when the fruit vendor, Master Donner grabbed his arm and said, "Now, wait a minute, Jacob. Calm yourself. There's no point in goin' after the girl 'less we know for sure she was the problem."  
  
"Are you sayin' my son was doin' wha' they said he was doin'?!"  
  
"No sir, I'm jus' sayin' we ha't'be sure."  
  
"What's there t'know? She's a witch! She shoul' have been killed jus' like the rest of them! She bewitched Jesabh!" Again he started to lunge and two men held him back.  
  
"Neureleine, what went on here?" Someone in the crowd shouted.  
  
Neureleine stood and scanned the group looking for a kindly face; finding none, she chose the fruit vendor to center on, he at least stood up for her though it may have been just a formality.  
  
"Well I spent the day at the market gathering supplies for my ma-"

"What ma?! She's a witch too, she is!"  
  
Neureleine looked around for the speaker but none would meet her gaze.  
  
"I was getting supplies and was halfway back when I noticed that Tessa and Mallory seemed to be having a spot of trouble with the fellows and I stepped in."  
  
"Enough! What did you do to them?"

The girl finished the story with her eyes continuously scanning the group before her, daring anyone to debate her honesty.  
  
By that time, Jesabh had managed to stand. He saw an opportunity to accomplish his task and took it.  
  
"She lies! Do ya think she could overtake three grown men all by 'erself? She's a witch; she cast a spell on us! She said all these strange words and witched us!" Throughout this speech, Jesabh moved his arms about, trying to show his emphasis in the lie.  
  
At the new accusations, Neureleine flushed with anger, clenching her fists, digging her nails into her sweaty palms until they bled, to prevent her from saying something that would just get herself into more trouble. That hateful little beast! More lies and accusations because he's too proud to admit that he was beaten by a girl!  
  
Murmurs swept through the crowd, most expressing grunts of agreement with the theory.

Master Nor broke free from the men who had loosened their group to discuss the matter.  
  
He lunged at her, surprising her into stumbling back and falling, staggering over the drop-off.  
  
She tried to scream, but all she managed was a strangled croak. She curled into a ball and silently called for help. Please Goddess! Help me!  
  
Suddenly she was gripped around her midsection; searing pain flowing from her stomach all through her body. Just when she thought she'd die from the pain, she fainted and all was dark.


	3. Witch

Chapter Three: Witch

Neureleine woke, gasping at the ache in her midsection, when she felt water wash over her face. She tried to sit up but found she was bound with her arms at her sides, her long hair blowing freely around her face.

"Kill the witch!"

Neureleine glanced around quickly, trying to find the cause of the outburst. Looking around her, she saw a mixture of fear, concern and fury. With a jolt, she realized they were all watching her.

"Who's a witch?" The crowd parted as Mallanora of the Dahme woodland faeries looked around the circle, indignant. "Neureleine Sithael! I told you to be home an hour ago! What have you gotten yourself into?"

Neureliene tried to explain but found she was gagged, something she had not noticed after her awakening when she tried to regain her senses.

She squirmed, trying to test her bonds and not be noticed. But before she had moved an inch, however, a long and sharp hunting spear was leveled at her throat. Following the path of the staff to its bearer's face, she saw with mixed feelings of humor and anger that she was looking into the face of the boy who watched the dairy stall.

She laid her head back down, praying to the gods to let her live. I suppose, Trickster, that you're having a good laugh right now-but spare me the humor and let me go!

Mally took in the situation with steady, level eyes and brought herself up to her full height of five feet. The animal noises seemed to stop and the wood became eerily silent.

One brave hunter yelled, "Kill the witch before she kills us all!" Mally turned her head in the speaker's direction and glared directly into his eyes, causing him to shift nervously from foot to foot.

Overhead the trees swayed, threatening to break at their trunks, and shower the spectators with splinters of wood.

"Is there something my foster daughter has done that I need to be informed of?" Mally watched the villagers' gazes shift, deadly calm in her voice.

Having finally collected himself into a sitting position, Jesabh was the first to answer. "She's bewitched us, that's wha' she did! We was standin' here mindin' our own business an' she came an' bashed us on th' back o' our heads with the trees!"

This answer was followed by a short pause while the town sat in stunned silence.

"What d'ya mean hit ya with the trees?"

"Well ya saw her! She made the trees catch 'er from fallin' off 'at cliff!"

"He's right Mally. T'was strange. A tree lashed out an' caught her like it 'ada mind o' its own. It was downright wrong! Trees 'ave no business comin' alive an' catchin' people, it's unnatural!"

This last accusation brought tears of anger and frustration to Neureleine's eyes. Her cheeks burned crimson as the first flash of lightening brightened the surrounding area to an almost daylight brightness. The village people looked up in amazement, fright visible on most faces. The resulting peel of thunder boomed across the clearing, bringing villagers to their knees.

"Gods be blest!"

"Quick! Let 'er go before the gods bring the forest down aroun' our ears!"

A villager Neureleine didn't know jumped forward to cut her bonds. Jacob jumped from his crouched position on the ground, a hunting knife appearing in his hand. Jacob made for her, a deadly gleam glowing in his eyes.

"Nobody touch 'er!" he whacked away the hands of the man attempting to free her. "She witched my son! She's mine!"

Just at the point when Jacob's knife connected with her neck, a rumble inside the earth resulted in a deep trench at Neureleine's feet where Jacob was standing. With a scream he tumbled down the side of the rocky pit to land, crumpled at the bottom, ten feet down.

Neureleine stared at him in shock, unable to contemplate what had happened during the last few minutes. With her pounding headache getting steadily worse and worse, she took in the scene around her with wide eyes: the townspeople; people she had known all her life, were staring at her, terrified. Granted, they may not have liked me, but some accepted me in their own special ways, and now they're scared of me!

This last thought was one Neureleine couldn't take. With a last shudder of horror, she passed out.

When Neureleine finally woke, she heard two voices conversing in low tones from above her. Curiosity getting the better of her, she made out to be still asleep.

"I would like to take her with me, to Tortall."

"But-"

"Mally, there is nothing for her here. She can't stay, they wouldn't let her, not after what happened today. She's not safe. Even if she did, she would live in isolation, everyone being too afraid of her to talk."

"I can't just-" the voice pleaded, a note of heartbreak tempting to overcome her resolve.

"Mally, she has no future here." The second, unfamiliar voice said gently but firmly.

"Okay."

Her wits fully applicable even after her long absence from the world around her, Neureleine's mind worked furiously. Mally was just going to let some stranger take her away? What would happen when he learned the truth? Would he scorn her for being different or accept her for who she was? And, most importantly, who was he, that Mally gave in to his authority and why did he care what happened to her?

Still trying to weasel the answers to these impossible questions out of her brain, Neureleine found the man at her side, lifting her shoulders to prop them against him.

Waiting until he settled her against himself, she grabbed his right wrist and flipped him on his back with one swift jerk. Turning the man's wrist in her hand, she gripped it in a steady, viselike hold, ready to squeeze pressure points if need be.

When the man landed, he gave a small gasp of surprise and said, "I don't know how your teaching is here, but where I come from, attacking your healer is not considered the best of manners."

Neureleine gave one last push on his wrist before letting him up, but stayed ready in case she needed to incapacitate him again.

The man got to his feet with cat-like grace, leaned against the wall and watched her with surprised amusement in his eyes.

The stranger stood as if waiting for something but, finally deciding it wasn't going to happen, shifted his weight to his left foot. He said, "As you are no doubt wondering but-I am sure too polite to ask," He said with not just a trace of sarcasm and amusement, "I am a merchant from Tortall here on-business."

Neureleine waited for him to continue but, seeing he wasn't, asked, "Name?"

Looking her straight in her eye with a mischievous twinkle in his own, he said, "I wondered what you would ask first. Judging by your greeting that is not the one I would have expected."

Blushing slightly with embarrassment, Neureleine decided to ignore such a circuitous remark. Why will he not just answer? What does he have to hide?

"I am sorry Master merchant that my question surprises you but as I did ask it and it is reasonable enough, it needs to be answered."

Up until them, Mally had been silently watching in apparent discomfort and embarrassment. At the last, she squeaked with indignation at her foster-daughter's rude manner and, finally gathering composure, started to lecture the girl on the offending mannerism.

Saving Mally a great deal of distress, the stranger just tilted his head and laughed, merriment shining in his eyes. At the sound, Mally stopped her scolding and just watched him with a look of mild interest that confused Neureleine.

"Thamas, at your service, milady-depending on how you intend to use it, of course."

"Naturally," the girl replied, and glancing at Mally's contemplating visage, turned back to the stranger and asked, "Now, what's your real name?"

He watched her with a calculating look for a moment. Finally, he grinned. "Loki. And now I'm not sure whether I want to give you my service or not. I doubt you'd put it to good use."


	4. Not Today

Protectress of the Small: As soon as I read your reviews I started typing this out especially for you...If you have any ideas, feel free to tell me. Oh, I tried to find your stories to read them but when I typed your name in the search box under "Pen Name" I could not find them. Where are they and what are they called?

Chapter 4:

Neureleine sat on her mountain pony, her hands clasped firmly around the reins with a mischievous tilt to her mouth. Here she was, riding away from her one friend, when just over three hours ago, she would have given anything to be with her. She was leaving behind all she knew to ride away with a man whose name she may or may not have truthfully, to Goddess knew where. _You always were one for irony._

As she thought back on the past few hours, her grin faltered. She had left Mally all alone in a town full of people with not exactly benevolent feelings towards her. While Mally was perfectly capable of defending herself (with not just a little damage to her attackers), against the whole town she might encounter some problems-unless....But she didn't want to think about the other option.

Neureleine glanced at the man riding next to her and wondered again what he was doing there in the eastern regions of Tusaine and why he'd decided to take her with him.

Loki turned and seeing her watching him, he grinned wolfishly. "Admiring the view?" he asked jokingly.

Neureleine blushed and looked away. "As appealing as that may be-no. I was thinking about your, uh-occupation and wondering why it is that you have no merchant's cart or aides. It is a dangerous part of the country you travel, Master Loki and most wouldn't take the risk. Judging by your presence I would have to assume you are very foolish, very capable of taking care of yourself, or not a merchant at all, intending not to be conspicuous. Unless, I am much mistaken, you are not foolish. This leads me to the last two possibilities. In this case you are either a criminal or on a mission you do not want me to know the details of-and I prefer not to believe the most of people. So forgive m, you must have a perfectly good explanation, which I am sure you are about to give.

Her abrupt end to this long speech brought loud peals of laughter from Loki which Neureleine watched with mingled curiosity and amusement.

When Loki finally settled back into his normal state of composure, he looked at her, eyes shining with admiration that made her feel uncomfortable.

"Not one for subtlety are you?"

"No, not really."

"I didn't think so. But you are right; I'm no criminal, well, not today anyway. Nor am I a merchant-and apparently not a good liar either. I'm afraid that's a skill I'll never master."

"Do you always avoid giving straight answers or is that an ability you'll never master too?" she asked irritably.

Loki gave a gasp of mock indignation. "Why no, my good lady! I thought I'd fulfill your high level of curiosity in one fell swoop-I wouldn't want you to get irritated over small details mistakenly left out of the telling, so bristle not and let me finish the telling of my noble, yet short tale." By the end of this speech, Loki's hands were raised in a Player's salute and Neureleine was trying very hard, however unsuccessfully, not to laugh.

"You missed your calling," she said, trotting ahead of him, feeling amused yet slightly unsatisfied.

Four days later, Neureleine, after performing her now familiar tasks of making camp, wandered off into the trees to think. Being the first significant amount of time she'd had to do so, Neureleine was oblivious to anything else. She was taken utterly by surprise when the first thundering of hooves was heard to her right.

Neureleine looked up in time to see the readied swords of her attackers but didn't wait any longer to find whether the intentions of their owners were for good or ill. With the swiftness she had trained for, Neureleine leapt to her feet, bringing her waist dagger to level with the leader's stomach. Just as she was about to throw, a horseman grabbed her around the waist, scooping her into a lock. Using her weight as leverage, Neureleine jammed the hilt of her dagger into the pressure point at his wrist, loosening his hold enough for her to drop. Flinging herself out of the way of the horse's flying hooves, Neureleine propelled herself to her feet, dashing back through the trees. By now it had started to rain and all hopes of concealing her hurried footsteps were lost. Neureleine flung herself into the low hanging branches of the tree, taking advantage of the dense foliage to hide her path and safe haven.

All her senses prickled with tension. She waited for the sounds of horses' hooves growing nearer and nearer to her (searching and spotting her with gleeful whoops) that never came.

Dripping and miserable with the cold rain, Neureleine nodded off with a sudden onslaught of exhaustion.

Neureleine woke to the sight of wet trees and an unfamiliar squawking in her ears by a complaining blue bird that wanted to come into the nest she had apparently disturbed, from the rain.

"You too?" she growled.

After checking the scenery for any signs of her pursuers, the girl jumped down from the tree and landed with a groan on the hard ground, feeling the strain on an unknown wound in her arm.

The rain, not having stopped in the night, poured on steadily, leaving Neureleine with the unpleasant task of finding her way back in it.

She sighed and started out in what she thought was the right direction. With a resounding clap of thunder and inexplicable agony, Neureleine fell to her knees. She arched her back as pain she had never imagined tore through her. Pain rent her body in a million pieces as she screamed an agonized cry that reverberated through the forest and brought Loki running.


	5. Recovery

Chapter 5

When Neureleine woke the first time, it was to the sound of Loki's melodic voice singing a soft ballad. From her position by the fire across from him, she watched as he whittled a small stick. Glancing up, he saw her awake. His eyes immediately lit up and his face broke into a welcoming smile.

"How are you feeling?" he asked gently.

When she didn't reply, his smile was replaced by a look of concern. Moving around to her side of the fire, he took her hands in his, chafing them,warming them. "Don't stop," she finally croaked.

Still a little daunted by her silence, Loki flashed her a grin, but resumed his singing. Slowly, she started to doze off again. It wasn't until later that Neureleine realized she was wearing their only two blankets and taking up the closest place to the fire.

The second time she woke, it was early morning and the frost had not melted yet. The embers were dying and Loki was huddled into a ball across from her.

Resisting the urge to groan every time she moved an aching muscle, Neureleine dragged herself over to Loki and lay down next to him, spreading the blankets as best she could over both of them. Looking up to the dark, gray sky, Neureleine felt Loki flinch behind her then resettle with his arm around her waist.

When Neureleine was well enough, she watched Loki performing his daily duties and give attention to her nips and scrapes. After watching him for over an hour, she finally asked, "What happened?"

Loki, looking prepared for the question, looked up and feigned ignorance. "What do you mean?"

Speaking slowly and as if to someone very slow, she said, "Well a matter of a few hours ago I walked off into the woods to think, was chased through the woods by bandits, escaped said bandits, only to be attacked by a tree. I think that's about it. Oh wait-there was also that little thing about fainting dead away but still managing to end up here without being mauled by those same girl-chasing bandits." Neureleine's mood was dark; she could tell Loki's light manner was forced.

Loki stared at her and then gave her a fleeting smile. "Oh that. You walked into the woods, were chased by bandits, escaped said bandits…" Loki trailed off seeing the mock glare she was giving him.

As if in sudden understanding, Loki said, "Oh you mean the whole getting back here without being mauled? I can't say I have the slightest idea."

Neureleine's look of shock brought him to emit loud peals of laughter despite his previous sobriety, from which it took almost a full five minutes to recover. By this time, she was extremely annoyed and was preparing to whack him with a nearby stick that could more justly defined as a tree branch. But as she was not quite sure she could lift it in her sitting position, she decided to drag it over instead. When he saw what she was doing he sobered quickly, looking like a little boy caught doing something naughty.

Sitting across from her and drawing his knees to his chest, he took the bough from her. In preparation for his explanation, his face became the epitome of sobriety that Neureleine would have found hysterical had she had the strength.

"I honestly do not know what happened. I took after you when I heard the horses but could not find you. I searched the rest of the night but found no trace of you. Not even a sign that the bandits had been there." At this, Loki looked away, to hide his face, but Neureleine saw the anxiety there. "Anyway, I heard such a scream that sounded as if the Earth was shrieking in pain. It filled the forest but did not scare the birds of the animals; it was as if they were used to it or knew what it was." A faraway look entered his eyes and he gulped. The scream would haunt him forever. "I followed it but you were nowhere to be found. I must have been going in a circle because eventually I stumbled upon the camp. There you were lying by the ashes as if you had never left."

Neureleine glanced around in discomfort knowing that he would leave her now. She was too odd for anyone to be around for long. Except Mally. But even she seemed to be perturbed by Neureleine's odd ways from time to time. She would get a glint in her eye, followed by steely resolve. It was then Mally would become protective and be sure to know where Neureleine was at all times. But Mally wasn't there now. She was all on her own.

"Well, I guess you'll want to be going then?" she asked.

He nodded and stood in silent agreement, extending his hand to hers to help her up. She accepted it, wondering why he was being so courteous to her.

"Which way are you going?" she asked him, delaying the separation for as long as possible.

"The same we've been and are going," he replied, looking at her quizzically.

She looked up in surprise, but quickly hid it.

"What, you thought I would leave you?" he asked indignantly.

She nodded gravely. "People tend to do that."

He looked at her kindly and said, "I don't tend to do that."

They had been riding for and hour before Neureleine started to recognize the landscape. And hour and a half after beginning, she suddenly got down off her horse and walked off into the trees on her right.

Loki turned to look at her and saw her enter the woods. "Mithros, what is she doing?!" Loki jumped down from his horse and followed her in. He found her sitting on her knees, staring in wonder at the blackened ruin before her. In her hand, she held a bird's nest, its owner still mercilessly inside. He turned his attention to the tree and found a tree not burned as he expected, but split down the middle and singed.

"It looks like it was struck by lightning."

"This is the tree I was sitting in."

"How do you know?"

Silently she held up the bird's nest, then climbed to her feet.

I know it's short and bad but it was necessary for my story. I want to thank you all for your reviews and to tell you that they make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.: ) I will acknowledge you all once I get ten reviews! (oh, and this chapter was dedicated to heartdamoose for her faithful reviews!)


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